The U.K. Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), announced at the AIDS 2012 conference a partnership to expand access to anti-retroviral treatment in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has an adult HIV prevalence of 15 per cent, with an estimated 600,000 adults and children eligible for treatment. The U.K. and PEPFAR are together covering approximately 25 per cent of this need.

I was surprised and saddened to learn today of President John Atta Mills’ sudden death. On behalf of USAID, I extend my sympathies to President Mills’ family and all Ghanaians for their loss. President Mills’ lifetime of service helped to shape Ghana into a model of good governance and an anchor of stability for the entire region.

On July 26th, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will host the second day of the annual Global Diaspora Forum at USAID in Washington, D.C. Administrator Shah will deliver keynote remarks on Thursday, July 26th and announce new initiatives building on the U.S. government’s efforts to partner with diaspora community groups. Sessions throughout the day will focus on public-private partnerships and identify new opportunities for engagement with the U.S. Government. Media must RSVP to attend the events.

This evening the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO), AVAC and Champions for an HIV-Free Generation brought together African political and traditional leaders, as well as key figures in the international HIV response, for a satellite event at the 19th International AIDS Conference 2012. This unique group of leaders shared their views on the challenges and solutions to Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention in East and Southern Africa. Three clinical trials have proven that VMMC can reduce female to male transmission of HIV by approximately 60%. If scaled up to reach 80% of adolescents and adult men within five years, and coverage is thereafter maintained, VMMC has the potential to avert more than 3.4 million new HIV infections and save an estimated US $16.5 billion in care and treatment costs over the next 15 years.

Today, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah met with His Excellency Laurent Lamothe, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti, at USAID. In addition, Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg met with Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will be participating in numerous events throughout the 19th International AIDS Conference week. On Tuesday, July 24th, Administrator Shah will participate in a press conference at the Walter E Washington Convention Center.

Today, USAID Administrator Raj Shah swore in James Watson as the new Mission Director for Honduras. Mr. Watson will lead development assistance efforts to foster citizen security and social justice, increase food security and economic growth, and improve education and health.

Today, Banque Centrale de Tunisie (CBT), acting on behalf of the Republic of Tunisia, closed on its offering of a $485 million sovereign bond, guaranteed by the United States of America, acting through the U.S. Agency for International Development. This guarantee reinforces the strong U.S. commitment to the people of Tunisia by strengthening the Government of Tunisia’s ability to manage the transition to an economically sound and prosperous democracy. The closing of this loan guarantee marks the conclusion of an accelerated process that U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Tunisian Finance Minister Houcine Dimassi affirmed last April 20, 2012, when they signed a declaration of intent committing both sides to proceed as quickly as possible on this program.

Innovations that demonstrated the most promising solutions to address the causes of maternal and newborn deaths in hard-to-reach, low-resource settings were nominated tonight for award at the Saving Lives at Birth DevelopmentXChange at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The nominees will now enter into final negotiations before awards can be issued.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Jeffrey Ashley was sworn in as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission Director for the East Africa Regional Mission based in Nairobi, Kenya. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah presided at the event and administered the oath of office to Dr. Ashley.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and fellow founding partners NASA, the U.S. Department of State, and NIKE, Inc. announced today the nine innovators selected to participate in their LAUNCH: Beyond Waste challenge. LAUNCH is a unique program that aims to identify and accelerate solutions to the world's most urgent sustainability challenges. The current program cycle is focused on waste, and the finalists were chosen for their groundbreaking technologies and programs that address a broad range of waste issues, including waste-to-energy, agricultural waste and conservation, medical waste, sustainable chemicals and materials, and improved sanitation.

Award shared by Voilà’s T-Cash and Digicel’s TchoTcho Mobile recognizes the dynamic progress in the usage of mobile money

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that two of Haiti’s mobile network operators, Digicel and Voilà, will share a $3.2 million (U.S) award from the Haiti Mobile Money Initiative (HMMI) for reaching the five million transaction milestone and meeting the award program’s requirements. This is the final award in the $10 million incentive fund that was initiated in June 2010.

USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah will travel to London on July 11, 2012 to speak at the London Summit on Family Planning, convened by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Agency on International Development (USAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have jointly announced a new grant program called Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Health to help end preventable child deaths in developing countries.

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) swore in Peter Malnak as its new Mission Director for Rwanda. In Rwanda, USAID's work supports health and education services for a fast-growing population, economic growth opportunities, agricultural production and food security, human rights and good governance, and environmental protection.

On June 28 at noon, USAID will release its “Crowdsourcing” data report and case study during an event at the Woodrow Wilson Center. On June 1-3, the Agency launched it’s first-ever crowdsourcing initiative to pinpoint the location of USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) loan data.

Today at the 95th annual Lions Clubs International Convention in Busan, South Korea, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Lions Clubs International (LCI) launched a new partnership aimed at promoting literacy around the world. This partnership will:

Today,Jonathan Conly was sworn in as the new U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director for Pakistan. USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah presided over the ceremony and administered the oath in the presence of family, friends, colleagues, members of the Pakistani-American community and the Embassy of Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Dr. Asad Majeed Khan. As Mission Director for Pakistan, Conly will be responsible for managing USAID’s second-largest assistance program with the objective of supporting the development of an economically vibrant, secure and stable Pakistan that promotes peace and security in South and Southwest Asia.

Innovative Competition Acts as Catalyst for Business Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At the second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM II), 17 U.S.-based entrepreneurs were awarded matching grants to fund innovative business plans and promote economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The grants will match ADM winners’ own funds to support growth of their businesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are pleased to announce USAID’s foreign assistance obligation and expenditure data is now available on the Foreign Assistance Dashboard (www.foreignassistance.gov).